The Female Pig

“Please tell me you story now,” requested Sudeva.

There used to be a city named Shripura and a brahmana named Vasudatta lived there. Vasudatta had a daughter named Sudeva. (This Sudeva should not be confused with Ikshvaku’s wife.)

Vasudatta was a good brahmana. He studied the Vedas and observed religious rites. His only fault was that he loved his daughter too much. Sudeva grew up, but Vasudatta made no attempt to get his daughter married off. Many brahmanas came to crave Sudeva’s hand, but Vasudatta refused them all.

“What are you doing?” asked Sudeva’s moter. “Why are you not marrying off your daughter?”

“I am looking for a brahmana who will marry Sudeva and live with us,” replied Vasudatta. “I love Sudeva so much that I cannot bear the thought of her going away to her in-laws. No, my son-in-law will live with us.”

After some time had passed, a brahmana named Shivasharma came to visit Vasudatta. He was well read in the shastras. More importantly, he had no parents. His only relatives were four brothers who lived elsewhere. Vasudatta ascertained that Shivasharma was not averse to the idea of marrying Sudeva and living with Vasudatta. The marriage took place.

Unfortunately, Sudeva had been spoilt by her father’s excessive love. She had not learnt that she should obey and respect her husband. Her father Vasudatta was rich, but Shivasharma was poor. Sudeva treated her husband with contempt and heaped abuse on him. Out of love for Sudeva, Shivasharma stomached all this. When it became too much for him to bear, he left the house without telling anyone where he had gone.

“This is a great calamity,” Vasudatta told his wife. “We had a most desirable son-in-law and he has now forsaken us because of the way our daughter has treated him. This is terrible. I am going to throw Sudeva out of my house.”

“That is hardly fair,” replied Sudeva’s mother. “It is you who have spoilt your daughter through excessive love. The learned say that a child should be brought up with love only until it is five years of age. After that, it is time for the rod. If you spare the rod, your child will be spoilt. The learned also say that a daughter should stay in her father’s house until she is eight years of age. After that, it is time for her to get married. And she should always go and live with her husband. The daughter and the son-in-law should never live in the father’s house. Do you not know the story of Ugrasena?”

Ugrasena

King Ugrasena used to rule in the city of Mathura. The king of Vidarbha was Satyaketu and Satyaketu had a daughter named Padmavati. Padmavati was married to Ugrasena.

Ugrasena was devoted to Padmavati and loved his queen. But Padmavati did not reciprocate her husband’s love. In comparison with Satyaketu, Ugrasena was not at all wealthy and Padmavati always compared the prosperity in her father’s kingdom with the relative poverty in her husband’s.

After some years had passed, Satyaketu asked Ugrasena to send Padmavati to her father’s house. He had not seen his daughter for a long time. Although Ugrasena was loth to part with Padmavati, he agreed and Padmavati went on a visit to her father.